Trimmer with laser guide

Abstract

Cutting apparatus and methods are provided for cutting and trimming of flat materials, the invention incorporating an optical guide means for positioning of the flat material in a desired orientation. A laser device is positioned on a cutter to project a visual indication of the line of cut to be made by the cutting blade, and optionally along other lines such as to show a border or margin. Means are provided to power the laser device, and an optical element is provided to focus an emitted beam onto the cutter base, and any material placed thereon. Additionally the cutter includes a switching means for turning the laser device on and off. The switch can be mounted anywhere on the base or the cutting assembly. The cutter includes a cutting base for supporting the materials to be cut, a cutting blade assembly, and assistive cutting means such as a bottom blade on one edge of the base or a pad cooperating with the cutting blade to cut the flat material. The cutting blade can be of any type including, but not limited to, a guillotine blade and a rotary blade.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM / CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60 / 526695, filed Dec. 2, 2003. That application is hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to flat material cutting / trimming apparatus, and more particularly to flat material cutting / trimming machines having an optical guide means to help in the positioning of the flat material for cutting / trimming. [0003] Trimming machines typically include one or more blades configured to cut or trim an edge of a flat material to alter its size and to provide an attractive and neat appearance. [0004] Many types of apparatus are known for trimming flat materials such as photographs and paper, the most well known probably being the standard guillotine type paper trimmer. In a standard guillotine trimmer, a base board on which paper is to be cut has one edge fo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides improved cutters with laser guides for more precise cutting. A laser device is positioned on the cutter to project a visual indication of the line of cut to be made by the cutting blade. The laser beam is fanned onto the cutter base and any material thereon into one or more visible lines. The cutter also includes a switching means for turning the laser on and off. The cutter for cutting and / or trimming sheets of flat material includes a cutting base, a cutting blade, and a bottom blade. The cutting blade can be of any type. The technical effects of this invention include improved precision, efficiency, and accuracy in cutting."

Problems solved by technology

Such alignment techniques do not address the need to align a cut at an irregular angle or to visually align such a cut.

Despite various alignment tool, rulers and the like, the actual line of cut of the cutting blade is at best difficult to determine, making consistent, precise, aligned cuts impossible.

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